Display cabinet



Nov. 27, 1956 Filed Oct. 28, 1952 R. R. VOLZ DISPLAY CABINET 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Ric/lard R. 1 0/ Z A TTORNEYS Nov. 27, 1956 R. R. VOLZ DISPLAY CABINET 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 28, 1952 ll lll I'Il INJIZNTOR. fi/c/z 0rd R. Vo/z Nov. 27, 1956 R vo z 2,772,003

DISPLAY CABINET Filed Oct. 28 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

7 Rich 0rd ff. Vo/z ATTORNEYS Nov. 27, 1956 R. R. VOLZ DISPLAY CABINET 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed 001;. 28; 1952 INVENTOR. Richard/P. l o/z BY I ,4. 21 rramw: rs.

United States Patent DISPLAY CABINET Ri har R. V 2, R dg d, N-

assi snh 29. 1 assignments, to Coats 8; Clark Inn, Wiirnington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application October 28, 1952, Serial No. 317,269

4 Claims. (Cl. 211-130) en en l e to a sp ay c binet or nd, fQI cylindrically-shaped articles such as thread spools, zippers packaged in coiled form, and like articles and particularly to a device which enables the purchaser to serve himself.

A principal object is to provide a display device of the self-service type which will keep the articles substantially free of dust and other atmospheric contaminants which up to now, at least, and particularly in the case of thread spools, have been the cause of a serious problem of thread soilage. Few purchasers care to buy soiled thread .or soiled articles in general. Unlike prior devices, the pres- .ent cabinet avoids the exposure of excessive quantities .of articles which, .especially if the turnover is 101", .Only aggravates the soilage problem. Among other advantages the invention enables convenient servicing .of the cabinet to .be made, permits the brand of the goods .to .be prominently identified on the cabinet, facilitates shipping .of the device by virtue of a collapsible construction, and provides a cabinet of enhanced attractiveness. 'The invention may .be better understood by consulting .the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodiment is illustratedand in which h V Fig. ,1 is a front elevational view of the cabinet in its extended ornon-collapsed position; h

Figs; 2 and 3 are end elevational views of thecabinet hits-extende andco apsed p i i respet v y .3 being pa tly en away and. p rt y s on d;

,Fig. 4 is a plan view of the cabinet in entended'form; Fig. 5 isa back elevational view of the cabinet in extended form, part of the construction being omitted;

Fig'. 6 is an enlarged partial view showing in perspective a detail of the cabinet base construction; 7

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view taken along the line VI I VII of Fig. 4;

,Eig. 8 is an enlarged, partial View of the right hand side ,of the back of the cabinet; more particularly it is a View lookingalong the line VIIIVIII of 4, part of the .Qonstructionbeing omitted;

,Fig; ,9 is an enlarged viewtaken along the lineIXI X oil-rig. 4; V

Fig. 10 is an enlarged, fragmental view, in perspective, looking along the line X,X inFig. 4;

,Fig. 11 ,is an enlarged view taken along line'X I-...X[ .of Fig. 3.;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged view, partly broken away and .insection, showing details of a modified construction;

Fig. 13 is a view like Fig. 8 but showing a modification iotFig. 12;

Fig. 14 is. an -enlarged, fragmental, sectional viewshow- .ing a modification of Fig. 12;

Fig. .15 ,isanenlarged sectional view along the line Fig. 16 isa fragmental view along the line of Fig.

2,772,0fi3 Patented Nov. 27, 3956 Fig. 19. is an enlarged fragmental view looking in the direction of the arrow Bin Fig. 12.

The views of Figs. 1 to 11 will be described in connection with the display of thread spools, some of which are apparent in the drawings. It will be understood that other a t le may b s ar y d pl .A yb s n in Fig. 3, the display cabinet comprises a stack of trays 1Q, 11, 12, 13, and 14, one tray being superimposed upon another as shown, Means in the form of levers are provide o enab h al e trays a o e h t m 9 t swing backwardly to an ofiset or extended position, as in Fig. 2, which the trays are upwardly inclined from front to back, presenting a stepped arrangement with each tray overlapping the rearward portion, say at least half thereof, of the tray immediately beneath it. As shown, the levers are disposed at the ends of the trays and pivotally connect all the trays together. Lever 15 connects end 10 1 a. a 12 oi trays ,10 11, an esp tivel-y; lever 16 connects ends 10a, to 14a of trays 10 to 14, respectively; and lever 17 connects ends 12a to 14a of trays 12 to 14, respectively. On the opposite ends of the cabineta similar arrangement of levers is provided.

These levers also enable the trays to swing torwardly from their extended position of Fig. 2 to their stacked or collapsed position of Fig. 3.

In this connection, and referring to Figs. 1 and 2, that dimension-of the cabinet which extends from the front A to the back B is usually called the depth; the dimension from B to top C is the. height; and the dimension from ,end D to end E is the width. i I

Trays 1 1, 12, and 13 are identical. Trays 1t and 14, while substantially the same as 11, 12, nd 13, contain added features. The following description ,of tray 11 will apply to all the trays. It comprises a pair of opposite end'walls 11, 11b, to which lev rs 15, 16 and 15a, 1612, respectively, are connected by pivots 18, 1 9 and 18a, 19a. The upper edges of ends walls 11a and 11b terminate in ihwar vd phsc d es 1 1 (F swhich l e support tra 1 i m a y ab e they ay 11- ay 1. has a fioor'lle (Fig. 7) extending between the end walls on which a plurality of spool-supporting runways 11f are .formed by the partitions 113. The runways 11jare dis rosed tran ve s y a s he t ay r m en o en t each runway extending from the front to the back of the tray. As maybe seen in Fig. 2, the spools are positioned on the runways in side to side relation. Floor 11c is stepped upwardly at each end of the tray, as shown at ;.so that the end portion 11i of the floor parallels and rnakescontact with the end wall 11b. Tray 11 also has .a front wall 11 (Figs. 1 and 9) extending transversely across the tray having a series of cut-outs 11k in the upper edge of .thesame, each cut-out being aligned with a runway and serving to expose .the spools in vthe runway. The wall 11 extends a short distance below the floor of the tray and then terminates in a reversely bent portion, as seen at 11m (Fig. 9). Along its rear ends, tra y 11 has a forwardly inclined, grooved, multi-slotted member -1 1n. Each slot (-Fig. 5) of this member is aligned with a runway. A spool-identifying strip 20 (note tray "14in Fig. 8)'is insertable in the groove of member 111 1, having thereon a series of spaced legends which are exposableto view through the slots 1-10 and which serve to identify the spools in each runway. V

Tray 11 has an open top 21 (Fig. 9) through which the thread spools are visibleand accessible, and it also has an openback side 22 through which fresh spools may conveniently be added to the runways by a sales clerk.

The spools simply roll downwardly in the runways from base 30.

. section 40.

seen end wall 12b, the upper edge of which terminates in the ledge 12d. A portion of floor 12e is visible on which the runways 12 are formed by partition 12g. Floor 12e is stepped upwardly at 12h, and the end portion 121' parallels and touches wall 12b. Wall 12 extends across the front of the tray, being provided with cut-outs 12k and the downwardly extending 'reversely bent portion 12m.

Tray 12 is supported on the ledge 11d of wall- 11b of tray 11 immediately below and also by being secured, as by spot welding, to the wall 12b.

Bottom tray difiersfrornthe other trays by having end walls 10a and 10b whichare of diiferent shape'and somewhat higher than the end walls of the other trays. Walls 10a and 1% rest on a supporting base 3Q'(Figs. 6 and 7) and slope upwardly from'the'front to the backof .the tray. As in the case of the other trays, the'floor liie of tray 10 is inclined (Fig. 2) to the horizontal, and his supported in this position by securing the end portions 10i of the floor to the end walls of the tray.' At its back 'end, floor We rests on a ledge 10p of a back Wall 10q '(Fig. 2 which extends between end walls 10;? and 10b below the slotted member 1011. In other respects the tray 10 is like tray 11.

End walls 10a and 10b of tray 10;v are supported on base 30 by across member 31 (Fig. 6). Between each end wall and base 30 there is provided an'L-shaped groove, one of which is shown at;32 as being formed by L-shaped plate 33 to they end wall 10a and attaching an Tray 14, which is the'top tray of the cabinet, differs from tray 11 by having a panel 34' covering the rearward half of, the tray and also by'having a second panel 35 extending upwardly from the rearof the tray. These panels 34 and 35 are adapted to receive advertising,

trademark, or other 'indicia. Panel 35 has a pair of handles 36, 37 onits back side to enable thetraysto be moved from their stacked to their extended position 7 Intermediate the handles is 'a clip 38 and vice versa.

for holding cards, signs, and the like. Panel 34 is supported at its ends on the ledges 14c and 14d;of end walls 14a and 14b of tray 14, and intermediate its ends is supported by the member or strip 39, which in turn rests on thefloor of tray 14. Panel 34 also has a depending As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the cabinet is equipped witha pair of opposite, rearwardly extending end panels the panels 41, 42, and comprises, in thecaseof edge.

54, a strip 57 secured to the inner side of panel 42 as by spot welding, a spacer strip 58 being inserted to provide a slot 59. A yieldable strip 60 is secured to panel 42 at 61, this strip serving to retain the cross piece 53v in position. By depressing the spring-like part 62 until it engages panel 42, the cross piece may be moved rearwardly out of slot 59. Screw or pin 63 inedge 55 may engage. an opening in the bottom ledge 64 of panel 42 'to further support the cross piece between. the panels.

j Panel 42 is further formed with an inwardly disposed 41, 42 for supporting the cabinet when the .trays are in I k their extended position. These panels are alike sothat a description of one of them will sufiice. .Considering panel 42, it has on its lower edge a forwardly extending L-shaped member 43 engageable with the L-shaped groove 32 above referred to. At the back end 44 of member '43 is an L-shaped bracket 45 attached to panel 42, which, when member .43 is fully engaged in groove 32, engages the back wall 101 of tray 10 (Figs. 3 and 8).

A screw 46 may be employed to hold bracket 45 in engagement with wall 10q Panel 42 has a stepped upper edge on which steps 47, 48, 49 and 50 are provided, these steps increasing'in height from the front to the back of the panel. The steps ,of panel 42 correspond to those of panel 41 and form pairs of steps, each pair serving to ledge 65. v The cabinet is supported on rubber'discs 66, the shafts 67 of which engage spring'retainers'68 (Fig. 6) secured to the cabinet.

Each runway in a tray is adapted to hold about a.

dozen spools, which is a conveniently s'mall quantity and is, in fact, the number usually packed in-a box of spools.

Thus, no excessive amounts of any one particular spool ing the handles and moving them forwardly until the trays are in the position shown in Fig. 3. 'latter movement, the handlesare lifted somewhat as they 7 I are moved forwardly. With the trays stacked, as in Fig.3,

the spools on one tray will be covered by the tray im 'mediately above it, and thus all the spools will'be protected against dust and other atmospheric contaminants except those in the forward part of the top tray and these, of course, may be convered in any appropriate way as by placing a' sheet or cloth over them. Boxed spools 'for replenishing the supplyin the cabinet may be stacked in the back part of the cabinet, that is, back of the cross piece .53 and underneath the extended trays. In order to' replenish the cabinet, the vclerk simply adds spools to the back end of each runway and the spools 'will roll; .forwardlydown the runways by gravity. Legends on the :strips 20 insure that the correct spools are placed in the correct runways. As will be understood, the trays are preferably in'their stacked position'during replenishing.

Al modified tray construction is shown in Fi'gsQlZ to 19 and is particularly characterized by having article restraining means at the back side of the tray which, while permitting. the loading of the runways of the traywith" :cylindn'cal articles, serves to prevent the articles from being ejected through the'ba'ck side as might happen when a sales person attempts to load the runways beyond their capacity from the front side. Such restraining means comprise a swingable member or barrier in the form of aflat strip 70 which extends transversely across the backside of each tray. As'all of these swingable supporta tray of the cabinet when the trays are extended. The steps of panel 42 have inwardly disposed ledgesf 47a to 50, respectively, which with the corresponding ledges of panel 41 serve tosupport trays 11 to ,14, respectively. On ledge 50a of panel 42 is a lug 51 which,

'when the trays are extended, engages a corresponding recess 52 (Fig. 2) in the floor of tray 14. Panel 41 has a similar construction. 7 1 I V 7 Panels 41, 42 are connected and braced'by a detachable cross piece 53 (Figs. 3, 4, and 11) which is of rectangular shape and has the edges thereof bent forwardly, as at 54, 55, and 56. The end edge opposite 54 is not shown but is also bent forwardly. Means are provided for attaching the end edges of the cross piece to members are thesame, only that on tray 14 will be described in detail. Intermediate its end portions and throughout most of its length the member 70 is of double thickness (Figs; 17 and 18), The member may con:

.veniently .be' formed from a flat, appropriately shaped piece of sheet metalby turning up the bevelled ears 71a and 71b and reversely folding a pair of panels 70a and 70b into the position shown in Figs. 17. and '18. 'Ears 71a and 71b serve as mountingpor-tions for pivotall'y connecting the member to the opposite .end walls and 14b (Figs 12). The pivotal connection is provided by mounting eachear on a short axle 72 (Fig. 15) which is shown as a tubular piece having an outer head '73 and a flanged inner end 74. The-ears 71a and. 71b have open-, ings 75a and 75b, respectively for receiving the axles, the inner ends of the latter then being flanged asjshown to retain the member 70 in position.

As will be apparent, the trays may be con- During the amines I when not engaged by an article, member 'lflidepends from .its supporting :a-Xles, L35 intray :12 ishnwnain .Eig. 5'4, and is :freely .;.swingab1e. :Qylindrically shaped articles, which may be mthread spools :or, as intended to heindicated in Figs. 12-19, zippers woundrinton econeentrically coiled or rolled form and placed in a cylindrically shaped :transparent container, Lonezipper ;per .container, are fed to the nunways 'cf the tray from the back side, .as, shown in trays 14 and 13 in Fig. The articles are ;pushed against the "swingable merriber'i70, which jmbves inwardly easily to permit the article fto enter the runway and rdll downwardly to the front portion thereof. fIhe articles, which are somewhat *larger "than Lthe threadg'spools jshown in Figs. '1-11, fill a runway in -he mannerfshown in Fig. 12, the reararticle engaging'the underside ofin'em- '5 ber 70. In case asaleszpemoniattempts to load a runway beyond its capacity, or if the cabinet is accidentally .tilt'ed backwards, the articles not be displaeed from or fall through the back side of any tray because the member 70, which is engaged by the rear article, may not from such engaged position be swung outwardly of the back side of the tray, This is because the rear article makes contact with member 70 at a point too close to the pivot point of the member to effect a swinging action on the member. In other words, the torque which the engaging article shown in Fig. 12 can exert on the member 70 is not sufiicient to turn the member, considering the latter as a lever.

As will be appreciated, the restraining action of member 70 on articles in the tray will prevail when a runway is filled to capacity so that the rear article engages member 70, as described. When no runways are filled, the restraining action may still take place, as when the cabinet is tilted backwards and articles roll back and engage the member.

In Figs. 12 and 19, the front wall of each tray is provided with a slotted or grooved member for receiving an article-identifying strip 80, note Fig. 12. This slotted member comprises a narrow elongated piece 76 having a back wall 77 and inwardly folded longitudinal edges 78 by means of which a slot or groove 79 is provided for the strip 80.

As shown in Figs, 12 and 14, the vertical panel, designated 35a, on the top tray 14 may be inclined slightly to the rear and may be connected to a pair of tapered side panels 35b and 350.

It will be appreciated that the size of the cabinet, trays, and runways, the number of trays, and the number of runways per tray are variable and will suit the type of article to be displayed. Irrespective of the articles displayed, the cabinet enables a full color range of articles to be on display at all times and permits the purchaser to obtain a full view of the article and its color. A sales person can tell at a glance what articles are missing and with the help of the front and/or rear identifying strips can quickly restock them from the boxed supply stored underneath the trays. When the cabinet is to be moved or shipped away, it may be dismantled quite easily by collapsing the trays and removing the cross piece and panels.

This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending application Serial Number 240,390, filed August 4, 1951, now abandoned.

Although the invention has been described in connection with a specific embodiment, it should be understood that it is capable of obvious variations.

In the light of the foregoing, the following is claimed:

1. A self-service display cabinet for cylindricallyshaped articles comprising a stack of trays of uniform length and width, one tray being superimposed upon another; means for enabling all the trays above the bottom one to swing backwardly to an offset extended position in which the trays are upwardly inclined from front to back and present a stepped arrangement, each tray overlapping at least the rearward half of the tray immediately forwardly from their extended position toifi ntaolgedger ,collapsedgpositiom-eaeh :tray :havingan DQ211309; through which the articles are wisiblezand accessible 1 L650 .csnppnrt thereonea itraytof thet'cabinet when the trays .are

extended. a Y a a .2. A,self-servicesdisplayxzabinet for=cylindrically=shaped articles ;comprisingta;stack of grectangularlyishaped' traygs ofltmmrmilength'zand -width,.=.one :traybeingsuperimposed upon another; means for enabling all the trays above the bottom one to swing backwardly to an offset extended position in which the trays are inclined and present a stepped arrangement, each tray overlapping at least the rearward half of the top side of the tray immediately beneath it, said means also enabling the trays to swing forwardly from their extended position to a stacked or collapsed position; said bottom tray having end walls which slope upwardly from front to back, a groove on the inner side of each said bottom tray end wall, a pair of rearwardly extending end panels for supporting the cabinet when said trays are in their extended position, each end panel having a forwardly extending member engageable with a groove on the bottom tray end wall, each end panel having a stepped upper edge with the steps increasing in height from the front to the back of the panel, the steps of one end panel corresponding to those of the other to form pairs of steps, each pair of steps being adapted to support thereon a tray of the cabinet when the trays are extended; said cabinet, when the trays are collapsed, serving to protect the articles from being soiled by dust and the like, and providing, when the trays are extended, a maximum display of the articles.

3. A self-service article display cabinet comprising a stack of trays, one tray being superimposed upon another; means on the stacked trays for enabling the trays above the bottom one to swing backwardly to an 0&- set extended position in which the stack of trays is upwardly inclined from front to back and presents a stepped arrangement, each tray of the inclined stack overlapping at least the rearward half of the tray immediately beneath it; a grooved, elongated piece extending along the front side of each tray for receiving a strip having articleidentifying legends thereon, a forwardly inclined, grooved, multi-slotted member extending along the back side of each tray for receiving a strip having article-identifying legends thereon which are exposable through said slots; each tray having an open top through which the articles are visible and accessible and also having a back side through which articles may be added, the articles being movable downwardly in the trays by means of gravity; the top tray of said cabinet having a first panel covering the rear portion of the tray and also having a second panel extending upwardly from the rear of the tray, said first and second panels being adapted to receive advertising or other indicia; a pair of rearwardly extending end panels for supporting the cabinet when said trays are in their extended position, each end panel having a forwardly extending member engageable with the bottom tray, each end panel having a stepped upper side and each tray being adapted to rest on a pair of corresponding steps of said panels, a cross member connecting said panels together and serving to support the same, said cabinet having a space between said end panels and underneath said extended trays for storing packaged articles; said cabinet, when the trays are collapsed, serving to protect the articles from being soiled by dust and the like, and providing, when the trays areextended, a maximum display bf thearticles. a i

from front to back and presents a stepped arrangement, each tray overlapping'at least the rearward half of-the -'tray=immediately beneath it; apair of rearwardly extend- :ing end panels for supporting the cabinet when said trays :tray, each end panel having a stepped upper side' and each tray being adapted to rest on a pair of corresponding -steps of said panels; a cross mernber connecting said panels together 'and serving to support the same, said 7 rcabinet having a space between said endpanels and underneatl'1 isa.i1;l extended trays for storing packagedarticles; -sai d cabinet, when the trays are collapsed, serving to protectfthe articles from being soiled by dust'and the like,

and providing, when the trays are extended; a

display of the articles.

References Cited in the iiile of this patent i i UNITED STATES PATENTS 514948 Luster Feb. "2o; 1894 1,277,893 Fischer Sept. 3,, 19118 1 464 83} J .Rihgler Aug. 14, 1923- 19613394; :R otheI, j June 5,1934. 2,650,150 Smith e't'al. Aug. 25;1953

' IFOREIGNPATENTS'Q Y W 790,888 France 4-, Sept. 16, 1935 629,459

Great'Britain Sept. 20, 19 49 feta-3 

